Turn Back the Time - The Lightning Thief
by roy23
Summary: Percy and Annabeth are falling down to Tartarus. But, due to an interference from a primordial god, Percy finds himself back at the beginning of his demigod life with his memories intact. Using the knowledge of the possible future, can he do better this time?
1. Chapter 1

TURN BACK THE TIME

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson series**

My name was Percy Jackson. I was a demigod (half mortal-half god, if you weren't familiar with this word). My mother was a mortal named Sally Jackson. My father was Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. For your information, it's really cool to be his son. I have these abilities to control water, create storm, and another perks of being a son of Poseidon. But, there is a major downside for all the good things of being a demigod. Demigods life sucked, especially me. Yeah, I could tell you that my life really sucked.

After all the problems with Kronos, I was immediately thrown into another bigger problem, another Great Prophecy. Well, if you wanted to know, it concerned of Mother Earth, Gaea, who was currently trying to rise from her deep slumber. Her sole purpose was to destroy Olympus with the help of her children, the Giants.

It all started for me when Lady Hera (or Juno, I didn't really care), the Queen of Olympus snatched me away from my family and friends, took my memories and put me into sleep for I didn't know how long. She had this plan to unite the Greek and Roman demigods by switching the leaders of both demigods. Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, the leader of Roman demigods was sent to Camp Half-Blood. While poor me, who was unfortunately the leader of Greek demigods (I couldn't help to curse myself for the many troubles I got because of the title) was sent to Camp Jupiter. The loss of memory part was purposely to make it easier for us to be trusted by the camp we'd be sent to.

Unfortunately for me, I was not really sent straight to Camp Jupiter. With my memories gone and only a few parting words from Lupa, the patron of Rome, I must find my own way to the Roman Camp. Harsh, right? But, I couldn't complain even if I wanted to.

Let me gave you the summary of the events that happened after I was dispatched by Lupa. I found the Camp, losing my Curse of Achilles (my invulnerability) as the prize, again because of Your Highness Lady Hera (once again I told you, I didn't care even if she was Juno at that moment), and my own tendency to help people.

Then, I got some new friends (Frank Zhang, son of Mars, and Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto), went into a quest to Alaska to free Thanatos, and defeated the giant Alcyoneus (the bane of Hades or Pluto) with said new friends (Frank and Hazel were the ones who had fun with the giant, while I only got some undead army to be dealed with).

After that, we went back to Camp Jupiter only to face another giant, Polybotes (the bane of my own father) and his army of monsters (this time I was the one who kicked the giant's butt, with a little help from Terminus, the Roman god of boundaries and landmarks). Well, it was fun, and for information, I got my memories back.

Next, I reunited with my girlfriend, Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. We kind of made a scene by kissing in front of the demigods. Well, you couldn't blame us. We've been separated for a long time.

The seven demigods of the Great Prophecy consisted of me, Annabeth, Leo Valdez (son of Hephaestus), Piper McLean (daughter of Aphrodite), Jason, Frank and Hazel, were immediately on the way to Greece to close the Door of Death, using the magnificent battleship, Argo II (Damn! The ship was so awesome, I told you).

But first, we had a mission to save Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, my dear cousin. Well, he's more like a little brother to me. He was kidnapped by Gaea's forces when he was looking for the Doors of Death. We thought that Nico could lead us to the location of the Doors of Death. And apparently, Annabeth had her own mission from his mother to follow the Mark of Athena and find Athena Parthenos that had been missing for a long time.

Short story, to save Nico from Gaea's grasp, Jason and I must fight the twin giants, Ephialtes and Otis, the bane of Dionysius or Bacchus, with the help of said god in his Roman form. What made me pissed off was that we had to impress Bacchus first with our fighting skills before he bothered to help us in defeating the twin giants. I swore he was more annoying than his Greek form, Mr. D. Once again, I couldn't complain. Gods and goddesses had their own antics. In the end, we could save Nico.

And we arrived at this moment. I was hanging on a ledge about fifteen feet below the top of the chasm that led straight to Tartarus with one hand while the other hand was firmly holding Annabeth. Annabeth was pulled towards the pit because of cobwebs that wrapped her ankle. I was fully aware that I was barely hanging there. The force that pulled Annabeth down was so strong.

I could see that Nico was leaning over the edge of the chasm above, thrusting out his hand. But, he was too far away to help. Hazel was yelling for the others. But, even if they heard her over all of the chaos, they'd never make it in time for sure.

I turned back to Annabeth when I heard her weak voice.

"Percy, let me go." She croaked. "You can't pull me up."

"Never." I said firmly.

Reaching a decision, I looked up above to Nico.

"The other side, Nico! We'll see you there. Understand?" I yelled.

Nico's eyes widened.

"But,…."

"Lead them there!" I shouted. "Promise me!"

"I, I will." He nodded.

I tightened my grip on Annabeth's wrist and locked eyes with her.

"We're staying together." I promised. "You're not getting away from me. Never again."

"As long as we're together." She said.

I released a deep breath before let go of my hand from the tiny ledge, and together, holding hands, we fell into the endless darkness.

* * *

The gravity pulled us down to the deepest of the pit. I couldn't see anything beyond this absolute darkness. I could sense the wind's current around us, though. It's cold, really cold.

I didn't know how long we'd been falling. It'd been a few hours perhaps. During that time, I kept Annabeth close to me. From her absence of voice, I guessed she had been passed out due to exhaustion.

This silence made me thinking about what had happened so far. Falling down to Tartarus was, of course, never once crossed my mind. Despite our situation, I managed to let out a chuckle from my mouth. Demigods really never meant to live their short lives easily.

I couldn't help to think that if only I was better, stronger, and faster, we wouldn't be in this situation. Heck, if only I'd known my heritage as a demigod long before the first time I was introduced to this hard life, surely it would make a lot of different.

"Stop it." I muttered to myself. "It's useless thought. You can't rewind the past."

"Are you sure it can't be done?" A deep voice interrupted.

"What? Who is it?" I exclaimed.

Suddenly, a presence was entering my mind. It was somewhat similar to Kronos, when he used his ability to control time, but way more powerful. My body unconsciously gave out a shiver because of the powerful deity's presence. I immediately remembered the times I encountered Gaea, in her slumber state. It was alarmingly similar.

"What do you expect, young demigod?" The voice asked. "She is my sister after all."

If only there was a light on this place, you would see that my eyes were widened comically. For a good reasons. One, whoever the deity was, he could read my mind. And with the mention of Gaea as his sister, only one name crossed my mind.

"No way!" I exclaimed. "Are you Tartarus?"

"Of course not."

The voice let out a chuckle and to my horror, the surroundings seemed shaking for a moment.

"I'm Chronos, the primordial god of time." He stated.

Okay, I wouldn't be so embarrassed to say that I was speechless for a while because of the shock.

"You are an interesting demigod, Perseus Jackson." Chronos said ignoring my state. "Let me give you a special gift."

"What?" I asked confused.

"Turn back the time." His voice boomed loudly in the darkness.

Suddenly, my eyelids were so heavy and I felt so tired.

"Let's see if you can change your past." Chronos chuckled lightly. "Choose your path wisely this time, demigod, because you won't get another chance."

That was the last thing I heard before I passed out.

* * *

"Percy, Percy."

The voice was familiar to me and someone, I bet the owner of the voice, was shaking my shoulder.

Very slowly, I opened my eyes and had to blink them a few times because of the sudden entrance of light. I looked around to see a bunch of children around me. I frowned because somehow this place was familiar to me. I turned to my right to see, Hades, was that my friend, Grover the satyr?

"You okay, Percy?" Grover asked.

Correction, a much younger Grover Underwood was looking at me with concern.

"What?" I asked dumbly.

"You spaced out, Perce." Grover sighed.

"Mr. Jackson." Someone called me.

I turned back ahead and must force myself to not freak out right away.

"Please refrain from daydreaming again and pay attention." Mr. Brunner said sternly.

Yep, that was Mr. Brunner, I meant Chiron when he posed as my Latin teacher at the Yancy Academy. I cursed mentally when I realize why it was so familiar. This was the field trip to Metropolitan Museum of Art that supposedly happened when I was a sixth grade student. The one on which I was introduced to the hard life of demigod for the first time.

"What the heck is going on?" I asked with wide eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

I DELIBERATELY VAPORIZE MY PRE-ALGEBRA TEACHER

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson series**

For a moment, I was stood still trying to understand what was going on.

"Mr. Jackson, could you please answer my question now?" Mr. Brunner's voice snapped me back to reality.

"Umm, could you repeat the question, Sir?" I asked nervously.

And the other students were openly snickering at me. Great, I was made a fool in front of a bunch of sixth-grade students.

Mr. Brunner sighed.

"Could you tell us what this picture represents." He said while pointing at the picture behind him.

One look at the picture and I knew exactly what it was about.

"That's Kronos, the king Titan, eating his children, the gods, Sir." I said confidently.

"Correct." Mr. Brunner nodded. "And he did this because…."

I tried to remember the story.

"Um, Kronos heard a prophecy that one day, one of his children, the gods, would topple him from his throne. Afraid that it might happen, he ate his children. But, his wife, Rhea, hid his youngest son, Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead." I said.

"And what happen next?" Mr. Brunner asked with a small smile on his face.

"After Zeus grew up, he tricked his father to eat something, a mix of mustard and wine, I guess, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested inside the Titan's stomach." I answered confidently. "Then, there was a war between the gods and the Titans. In the end, the gods won. Kronos was sliced into pieces with his own scythe, and scattered in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld."

"Excellent, Mr. Jackson!" Mr. Brunner praised. "Full credit for you."

Okay, I was happy that I got a full credit. The last time, I only got a half. But, I still thought that this was just an illusion.

Behind me, that ugly girl (Who was her name again? Right, Nancy Bobofit) mumbled to a friend. "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'"

"For extra credit, Mr. Jackson." Mr. Brunner said. "Why, to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"

"Busted." Grover muttered.

"Shut up!" Nancy hissed. Her face turned brighter than her hair.

Great, now what I should say. I couldn't say that it mattered because the story was real. That gods, Titans, and monsters were real.

"Um, there is always something good that we could learn from story like this, Sir." I said.

"That's true." Mr. Brunner agreed. "And for this particular story….?"

"That the good people always win in the end, Sir?" I answered hesitantly.

"That's one of them. But perhaps, the most important thing to believe in." Mr. Brunner smiled. "Good job, Mr. Jackson. Another credit for you."

I could tell from his smile that Mr. Brunner was proud of me. I couldn't help to smile as well.

"Well, I guess it's time for lunch." Mr. Brunner said. "Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"

Once again, I cursed myself mentally. How could I forget about her?

"Of course, Mr. Brunner." Mrs. Dodds said sweetly.

Then, Mr. Brunner turned to me. "Stay for a moment, Mr. Jackson." He said.

Mrs. Dodds took a glance at me and gave a malicious smirk for an instant. After that, she led the other students until only Mr. Brunner and I were left.

"I'm glad you're starting to learn, Mr. Jackson." Mr. Brunner said.

"Thank you, Sir." I replied politely.

"I guess I can expect the best of you from now on then?" He asked.

"I'll try, Sir." I nodded.

"Good." Mr. Brunner smiled. "Now, go outside and eat your lunch."

With a slight nod to him, I left the room and went outside. But, I took a detour straight to the bathroom first.

* * *

Once there, I finally let myself to freak out when I looked at my own reflection on the mirror. I was a twelve years old boy! My body seemed so small and scrawny. No more muscle. No more handsome look. Scratch that, I was still handsome for a kid. I pinched my arms with all my strength. Great, I could feel the stinging pain and didn't wake up. Not an illusion or dream then. But, I still had a doubt.

What about my ability? I made sure that no one else around before I began to use my demigod ability. There was a familiar tug on my stomach and immediately water was spread out in front of me. Okay, I still got my ability. That's good.

I tried to remember what happened before this. Annabeth and I were on our way straight to Tartarus. Then, someone spoke to me. Who was his name again? Right, Chronos, the primordial god of time. He said he was going to give me a special gift. What was exactly he said that time?

'Turn back the time.'

'Let's see if you can change your past.'

'Choose your path wisely this time, demigod, because you won't get another chance."

I swore I could hear the voice of the primordial god echoed on my mind like he was here himself. Did that mean this was real? I was really back in time? What should I do then?

"I'm really not good at this planning thing." I sighed. "And I miss Annabeth already."

Yep, I missed my girlfriend. I missed my Wise Girl. Would we even be together this time around? I hope so.

"Well, I'll do what's the best I can do." I muttered. "Go along with the flow and try not to mess up."

* * *

When I came outside, I saw that the class gathered on the front steps of the museum, where we could watch the foot traffic along Fifth Avenue. Overhead, a huge storm was brewing, with clouds that so black that were really threatening to spit out thunders and lightning any moment.

Right, Zeus was really angry right now. He was having a conflict with my dad, Poseidon, over the missing master bolt. And I was the prime suspect of the culprit who stole the bolt. Not only that, Hades was also accusing me for stealing his helm of darkness. He sent one of the Kindly Ones, Mrs. Dodds, or Alecto, to confront me.

"Poor me." I sighed.

Actually, it was strange that nobody else seemed notice. Mortals sometimes were so ignorant. But, I guess the Mist was playing a major role to keep them like that. Some of the guys were pelting pigeons with Lunchables crackers. Nancy Bobofit was trying to pickpocket something from a lady's purse, and of course, Mrs. Dodds wasn't seeing a thing.

I moved towards Grover and together we sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others.

"So, what did Mr. Brunner want?" Grover asked.

"Just praising me for a good job." I smiled.

"Yeah, I was really shocked that you got that right." He nodded. "Even got the extra credit!"

"Yep, I'm awesome like that." I grinned.

"Definitely not like you at all." He muttered.

"Hey, I had my moments!" I whined.

"Not a lot if I recall." He teased.

I just grumbled when he outright gave out a chuckle. But then, I just smiled and shook my head, not going to counter him. So, I took out my lunch from my bag.

Like last time, Grover looked at my lunch. "Can I have your apple?" He asked.

"Sure." I nodded and gave him the apple.

I watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue, and my mind wandered towards my mom. Gods, I missed her. It'd been so long since the last time I saw her. Almost a year, I guess, without giving her any news except that last phone call on the middle of my quest to Alaska. But, that's in the future.

I turned my gaze around. Mr. Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while reading a paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair. I swore it looked like a motorized café table.

I was about to eat my sandwich when Nancy Bobofit appeared in front of me with her ugly friends (tired of stealing from the tourists perhaps) and dumped her half-eaten lunch in Grover's lap.

"Oops." She grinned at me with her crooked teeth.

Even if I knew she would do that, I couldn't help to feel the anger that slowly building inside me. And as the result, she was sitting on her butt in the fountain a moment later.

She screamed. "Percy pushed me!"

Well, that part was true. And I wouldn't lie, I felt so good by doing that. Next thing I knew, Mrs. Dodds materialized next to us. I expected much from her.

I could hear some of the kids whispering to each other.

"Did you see….?"

"….the water…."

"….like it grabbed her…."

As soon as Mrs. Dodds was sure poor little Nancy was okay and promising to get her a new shirt at the museum gift shop (not like I care), she turned on me. There was a triumphant fire in her eyes. Yep, must be waiting that from me for all semester.

"Now, honey…." She said with a tone that really sickened me.

"Yes, Mrs. Dodds." I locked eyes with her. "A month erasing workbooks, I guess?" I asked, not really bothered at all. Not a single fear on my voice.

"Come with me." Mrs. Dodds said.

"Wait!" Grover yelped beside me. "It was me! I pushed her!" He insisted.

I grabbed his shoulder to stop him. And I shook my head telling him that he didn't need to cover me.

"Mr. Jackson here is aware of his own action, Mr. Underwood." Mrs. Dodds gave Grover a glare.

"But…."

"You will stay here!" She snapped.

"Don't worry, man." I smiled to my best friend. "I got this."

"Honey, now!" Mrs. Dodds barked at me.

Nancy Bobofit smirked at me. So, I gave her my deluxe 'I'll kill you later' stare. And I smirked when she took a step backwards with pale face. Good, I thought. She'd learn not to mess with me.

Then, I turned back to Mrs. Dodds, who was currently standing at the museum entrance, at the top of the steps, gesturing impatiently at me to come. Well, she was obviously in a hurry. Didn't want to make another scene, I went after her.

Halfway up the steps, I glanced back at Grover. He was looking pale and switching gaze between me and Mr. Brunner, like he wanted Mr. Brunner to notice what was going on. But, as expected, Mr. Brunner acted like he wasn't aware, and kept reading his novel. He was good, I thought.

I looked back up and Mrs. Dodds had disappeared again. She was already inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall. I sighed, preparing myself for the confrontation. I followed her deeper into the museum.

* * *

When I finally caught up to her, we were back in the Greek and Roman section. And the gallery was empty, except for us. Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She was making this weird noise in her throat, definitely growling.

"You've been giving us problems, honey." She said.

I just keep my mouth shut and my head down, mentally thinking what I would say to her.

She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket.

"Did you really think that you would get away with it?" She asked.

Finally, I looked up at her eyes that practically screaming beyond mad. The gaze was totally evil.

"I'm not the thief, Alecto." I said firmly.

I bet she didn't think that I would say that, even mentioning her real name. At least, that's what I got from her slightly widened eyes.

"What did you say?" She asked, more like snarled.

"I said it clearly, Alecto." I scoffed. "I didn't steal Uncle Hades' helm."

"Stop lying, Percy Jackson!" She hissed.

"I'm not!" I insisted.

Then, Mrs. Dodds decided to reveal her true form. Her eyes began to glow like barbeque coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. In a moment, she was a shriveled hag with bat wings, claws, and a mouth full of yellow fangs, had full intention to slice me to ribbons.

And my aid finally came. Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a familiar pen in his hand.

"What, ho, Percy!" he shouted, and tossed the pen through the air.

At the same time, Alecto lunged at me. I expertly dodge her talons and snatched the ballpoint pen out of the air. The pen turned into my trusted weapon, Riptide or Anaklusmos in Ancient Greek, a three feet long sword made of celestial bronze.

"Hello again, old friend." I smiled as I held the sword.

I looked up to the doorway only to see that Mr. Brunner had gone. A loud screech snapped my head back to the murderous fury. She flew straight at me. Once again, I had to move away to not get skewered.

"Can you please listen to me for a moment?" I asked.

"I'm not going to hear your lies again, demigod!" She exclaimed.

And for a few minutes, we played a game of cat and mouse. She would lunge at me and I would get away from her.

"Stop moving around!" Alecto shouted frustrated.

"And let you slice me with those sharp talons of yours." I scoffed. "Not a chance, old hag!"

Perhaps, I shouldn't say that because she was getting angrier. With a loud screech, she flew forward to catch me. This time though, I stood still until she was close to me. Then, I somersaulted above the angry fury and kicked her down to the floor. She hit the ground hard, head first. Ouch, that must be hurt, I winced mentally.

Immediately, she was trying to get up. But, I bet she was feeling rather disoriented.

"I suggest you go back to your master." I said. "Tell him that I will find the thief and get his helm back."

"Do you think you can order me around, demigod?" She growled.

"No." I answered honestly. "But, I insist."

Before she could react, I moved forward and slashed her with Riptide. I could see her shocked expression before she exploded into yellow powder, vaporized on the spot, leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech.

Well, that went well, I sighed. With Riptide back into its pen form, I left the room.

* * *

When I got outside, it had started to rain. Grover was sitting by the fountain with a museum map tended over his head. Nancy Bobofit was still standing there, soaked from her swim in the fountain, grumbling to her ugly friends. Then, she saw me.

"I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt." She said.

"Who?" I asked dumbly.

"Our teacher, duh!" She retorted.

I ignored her and moved towards Grover.

"Hey, Grover, was there a teacher named Mrs. Kerr?" I asked.

"Really, Perce?" Grover retorted. "You were with her earlier."

I could see that he was trying to lie properly. But, he was not good at it.

"I was with Mrs. Dodds, Grove, not Mrs. Kerr." I frowned.

"Who?" He asked back.

I just shook my head.

"Just forget that." I said.

Thunder boomed overhead. I looked up for a moment, gave out a scowl. Then, I turned around to see Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, reading his book, as if he'd never moved. Yep, he was really a good actor.

I went over to him. And he looked up, a little distracted.

"Thank you for the pen, Sir." I smiled while handed the pen to him.

Mr. Brunner seemed surprised by my calm state.

"You're welcome." He said at last. "Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson."

"I will, Sir." I nodded. "May I ask you a question, Sir?"

"Go on." He said.

"There is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip, right, Sir?" I asked.

"Of course not." He confirmed immediately. "As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling alright, Mr. Jackson?" He looked mildly concerned.

"I'm fine, Sir." I smiled.

I gave him a nod before I moved back towards Grover.


	3. Chapter 3

I HAVE A CHAT WITH THREE OLD LADIES WHO KNIT THE SHOCKS OF DEATH

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson series**

Even after all this time I'd seen the effect of the Mist, I was still impressed by it. The students were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr had been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas. No one remembered Mrs. Dodds, like she never existed at all. Well, she existed but not as Mrs. Dodds anymore. Of course, I was not going to be a fool again by mentioning her around like last time. I didn't want anyone to stare at me like a psycho, thank you very much.

I just asked Grover occasionally about her. Well, I brought her name up when Grover least expected it. It was really funny to see him shocked, or tripped, or choked on his food or drink. I surely looked like a bad friend to make my best friend suffered like that. But, hold that thought and let me enjoyed this moment.

Okay, back to my best friend's unfortunate situation. After he calmed down a bit (not a lot), he would attempt to lie of course. I always laughed on the inside every time he hesitated before claiming that Mrs. Dodds didn't exist. Even me who couldn't lie so well was not that bad.

Nearing the end of the year though, my mind was in turmoil. A lot of questions about my situation were popped in my head. Something like, should I tell anyone about this or not, or what should I do next, etc.

Unfortunately, the freak weather outside made it worse. I knew perfectly well that the thunderstorm and hurricane showed how dad and my dear uncle, Zeus, were in a bad mood. The reason for Zeus was obviously losing his precious master bolt. As for dad, well, I myself would be mad if I was accused in ordering my precious demigod son to steal it.

Honestly, I really had an urge to run straight to the beach and tell dad everything. Telling him who the real thief was and who was ordering him. But, obviously I couldn't do that because right now I wasn't supposed to even know him yet. In addition, it felt so wrong that I had already blurted out to Alecto that Hades was my uncle. I had basically informed the said uncle that I did indeed know my heritage when on the other hand I hadn't met dad yet.

Due to my inner clash that I previously mentioned, I was not really paying attention to the lessons. So, when it was official that I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy, I was not really surprised. I knew from experience that it would happen anyway.

As exam week got closer, I became more nervous and frustrated. I was not talking about the incoming exams of course. I was confident enough that I could at least get good grades. Well, I had done them before. Besides, I didn't think sixth-grade exams would be so hard for me this time (I was way beyond elementary student).

What bothered me was the fact that I hadn't reached a decision concerning my predicament. I knew that the safest way was to keep this to myself and didn't tell anyone. But, I couldn't help to feel that I would mess up somewhere in the future if I did that.

In my frustration, I decided to take a walk around the campus. And coincidentally, my feet took me to the front of Mr. Brunner's room, right at the moment he and Grover talked about me inside. Well, I thought it would be fine if I inched closer to eavesdrop. So, I did it.

"Are you sure, Grover?" Mr. Brunner said seriously. I imagined that there was a frown on his face.

"Yes, Sir." Grover answered nervously. "His scent is getting stronger ever since the incident with the Kindly One. And…."

"And?" Mr. Brunner urged him to continue.

"It's like Thalia all over again, Sir." Grover said finally with trembled voice.

Mr. Brunner took his time before responding to what Grover had said.

"I do have a suspicion about his parentage." Mr. Brunner said. "And if what I think is true then it would explain his calm state."

"But then, with the summer solstice deadline…." Grover's sounded near hysteric. "I can't fail again, Sir! You know what that would mean!"

"You haven't failed, Grover." Mr. Brunner said.

"But…" Grover protested.

"Don't worry about it, Grover." Mr. Brunner tried to reassure Grover. "I'm sure he would be fine." Did I hear a bit of worry on his sound?

"If you say so, Sir." Grover replied finally, clearly still had doubt.

"Go back to the dorm." Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."

"Don't remind me." Grover muttered dejectedly.

The conversation ended and I wasted no time to get away from there, fully intended to continue my night walk and think about what I had heard.

* * *

The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam, my eyes were droopy because of two reasons. One, I was not getting a good sleep last night (at least I had decided to keep this future knowledge to myself). And two, all of the Greek and Roman names on the exam were urging me to close my eyes even more. Basically, I was so tired that I wanted to hit the bed immediately.

But, before I could leave, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.

"Percy, don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy." He said. "It's…. it's for the best."

"I know, Sir." I gave him a tired smile. "I was not supposed to be here anyway." I shrugged.

Mr. Brunner was slightly surprised that I was fine by the situation.

"So, thank you, Sir, for teaching me." I said sincerely. "I know it's not easy for you to make me learn."

"It's not your fault, Percy." Mr. Brunner sighed. "You're just…. different."

The last time he said that I was different (implying that I was not normal), I was almost crying. But now, I was proud of my abnormality.

"Well, I guess I am." I grinned. "And I have a good guess that this would not be the last time we meet, Sir."

I sent him a knowing look before I turned back and walked away.

"See you later, Chiron." I murmured.

Unconsciously, I said that loud enough for the half-horse to hear. If only I bothered to turn around, I would see the look of surprise on Chiron's face before he shook his head in amusement. Not that I would know, because I was already gone (with bed as the main focus of my mind) by the time he did that.

* * *

On the last day of the term, I shoved my clothes into the suitcase, ready to leave Yancy.

The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland. Another was cruising on the Caribbean for a month. For me, they're merely showing off that they could do that because their daddies were rich.

I was not jealous of course. Why should I? I had the best parents in the world. My mom loved me for who I was. She never forced me to be like someone. She allowed me to choose my own path. She really was the best mom in the world. And I knew that dad, even if he couldn't visit me because of that stupid rule, loved me all the same and proud of me as well. I wouldn't replace them for anyone.

Okay, back to the story. When the other guys asked me what I'd be doing this summer, I told them that I was going back to the city. What I didn't tell them was that starting this summer I would go to the camp for demigods and do a dangerous quest to spend my free time. Yeah, I wouldn't get bored at all.

"Oh. That's cool." One of the guys said not interested.

They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed. That's totally fine, I scoffed mentally.

After I was done packing, I looked for Grover, knowing that he surely had booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had. So, there we were, together again, heading into the city.

* * *

During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. Well, I couldn't stand to see him assuming that something bad was going to happen anytime. So, I grabbed his shoulder and pushed him back to his seat.

"Take it easy, Grover." I sighed. "There won't be any Kindly Ones here. Trust me."

My attempt to calm him down was obviously not working because he nearly jumped out of his seat immediately. And from his wide eyes, I assumed that he was shocked by what I'd said.

"What, what do you mean?" He stuttered.

"Just stop." I shook my head. "You're a really, really bad liar." A smirk found its way to my face.

"I know that you're supposed to be my protector." I continued even if his ears turned pink. "I know about the Kindly Ones. And I definitely know about the Summer Solstice deadline."

"How did you….?"

"Know?" I said. "I actually eavesdropped on the conversation between you and Mr. Brunner the night before exam."

I could see that he was trying to say something. But then, he just gave up and fished out a grubby business card.

"Umm, just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer." He said.

The familiar card was in fancy script, which I had to squint on with my dyslexic eyes, to catch out the words:

_Grover Underwood_

_Keeper_

_Half-Blood Hill_

_Long Island, New York_

_(800) 009-0009_

I quickly shoved it back to him.

"You need it, Perce!" Grover insisted.

"Nope." I said cheerfully. "I have you to lead me there yourself."

"What?" He asked confused.

"You, my dear friend, will accompany me to my apartment. Then, you'll take me to the Camp after I get my mom's permission." I smirked. "Got it?"

"Sure…." He muttered clearly surprised and confused by my enthusiasm.

Suddenly, there was a huge grinding noise under our feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus was filled with a smell like rotten eggs. The driver cursed and turned the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.

After a few minutes clanking around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that we'd all have to get off. Grover and I filed outside with everybody else. We were on a stretch of country road (no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there). On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat was an old-fashioned fruit stand.

I purposely pointed my gaze anywhere but there. I knew that near that fruit stand, there were three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shape of maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of shocks I would ever seen. Two of them knitted shocks while the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.

I knew this because I'd seen them before. The ancient ladies with pale faces, wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, and bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses. They were the Fates, the ancient deities that controlled destiny. Truthfully, they're freaking me out.

"Perseus Jackson."

I shuddered when their creepy voices boomed inside my head. I reluctantly turned around to face them. And indeed, they're looking straight at me.

"You'd been touched by Chronos." They stated.

I gave a little nod, knowing that they could see it.

"Time had been turned back. Destiny had been rearranged." They continued. "But, remember this, demigod..." Their voices got more ominous.

I consciously gulped waiting for what they would say.

"What's supposed to happen would happen. Prophecies would be fulfilled." They chorused. "Beware, Son of the Sea. Your journey ahead would not be easier than before."

And just like that they pulled back their presence from my head. I shook my head and turned back to Grover who apparently had seen them too, if you looked at his pale face and twitching nose.

"Tell me they're not looking at you." He stuttered. "They are, aren't they?"

"Actually," I said with a slightly trembling voice. "….they were speaking to me."

And right then, Grover's knees were wobbling and he would fall down if I didn't grab him immediately.

"We're getting on the bus." He told me weakly while I supported him.

"Yeah. Let's go." I nodded for once agreeing with him.

We're walking towards the bus. I opened the door and we slowly climbed inside. A loud snip reached my ears and without turning around I knew that the middle old lady was cutting the yarn. And I was sure that they're still watching me.

At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered and the engine finally roared back to life. The passengers cheered while Grover and I reached our seats.

"Darn right!" The driver yelled. "Everybody back on board!"

* * *

Once the journey continued, I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the flu. Grover didn't look much better. We both were shivering, and Grover's teeth were chattering.

"Perce, you said they spoke to you." Grover stuttered.

"Yeah." I sighed. "Their voices freaked me out."

"What did they say?" He asked clearly afraid.

"It's..." I hesitated. "….nothing. Just a warning, I guess."

Immediately, Grover opened his mouth to question me further but I stopped him.

"Before you ask, I know who they are." I said. "And I can't tell you what the warning is."

He clearly wanted to protest. But, seeing my pale and shocked face, he canceled his intention.

"Just come with me, okay." I pleaded. "I want to go to the Camp as soon as possible."

Grover nodded as a response.


	4. Chapter 4

I GET A WARNING FROM MY FATHER

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson series**

As soon as we got to the bus terminal, we got off the bus and immediately Grover made a beeline for the restroom. I waited for him outside, focusing my mind on my mom. I couldn't believe that I'd finally be able to see her after so long. I missed her hugs. I missed her smile. I really, really missed her.

Once Grover got out of the bathroom, we took our suitcases and caught the first taxi uptown.

"East One-hundred-and-fourth and First." I told the driver.

And we made our way to my apartment.

* * *

I walked into our little apartment with Grover behind me, hoping my mom would be home from work. But, what I saw made me stiffened for a moment. Gabe Ugliano, my former step father (I really preferred Paul than him), was in the living room, playing poker with his buddies. The television blared ESPN. Chips and beer cans were strewn all over the carpet.

Damn, I cursed mentally. With all the time I was thinking of my mom, I completely forgot that I had to deal with Smelly Gabe, as I nicknamed him. I kept in my mind to get rid of him as soon as I could. Perhaps, I could persuade mom to do it by herself.

Hardly looking up, Smelly Gabe said around his cigar. "So, you're home."

"Where's my mom?" I asked rather coldly.

"Working." He turned his head and looked at me. "And mind your tone when you're talking to me, Boy!" He snapped.

I had to grit my teeth, barely suppressing my anger. This man was the one who made my mom's life pretty hard. He practically made our lives miserable. Hopefully, this was the last time I had to put up with him. So, I tried to keep my anger in check.

I just ushered Grover inside and that's when Gabe saw that I brought someone with me.

"Who is this, Boy?" Gabe asked.

"It's none of your business." I said.

From Gabe's red face, I knew that I was in trouble. He left his chair and moved towards me. He pushed me back to the wall while glaring to Grover, daring him to help me. Grover, who was cowering under the glare, took the safest option by taking a step backwards. Then, Gabe focused his gaze on me. His face was so close to mine that I could smell the cigar and beer. The smell was so bad that I nearly gagged right then.

"Learn your place, Boy." He growled. "This is my apartment. Everything under this roof is my business."

Keeping in my mind that I was not afraid of him, I met his gaze defiantly.

"As far as I know, my mom was the one who paid the rent." I said. "You're doing nothing to help her. So, this is my mom's apartment, not yours."

I clearly was not expecting the punch. It hit my cheek and I hit the wall behind me before collapsed to the ground. Gabe grabbed the front of my shirt and held me back up.

"Listen to me, Kid." He said. "I'll allow your friend here for this time only. But, from tomorrow you are grounded until school time starts. Understand?"

Before I could respond, he threw me to the ground. Grover quickly helped me to stand up.

"Stupid." Gabe scoffed. "I wonder if you get that from your stupid father."

Hearing that, I finally couldn't stand it anymore. I stood up and gave him my own glare.

"You can yell at me! You can insult me! But, you have no right to insult my father!" I shouted. "He is a thousand times better than you!"

The water pipes on the kitchen and bathroom exploded because of my anger. Gabe and his buddies were momentarily shocked by it.

"Rusty pipes." Gabe scoffed. Then, he turned back at me. "Go to your room!" He snapped. "I don't want to hear your nonsense anymore."

"Fine!" I shouted back. "Let's go, Grover." I said to Grover.

He helped me walk slowly to my room.

* * *

We entered my room and I slammed the door shut. I sat on my bed and immediately tried to calm down. My head was still rather dizzy after hitting the wall earlier and my cheek was hurt. Grover sat next to me with a shocked expression.

"How did you do that?" He asked, most likely referring to the water pipes.

"I'm my father's son." I said shortly. "And that's why the beach is my favorite place."

"Then, your father really is…." He stuttered. "Gods…. Why didn't I realize it sooner?" He shook his head.

"That's because of my smelly stepfather outside." I retorted. "Because of him, my scent was covered."

"But, how did you….?"

His question was halted, when suddenly the door was opened and my mom rushed inside. She just spared Grover a quick glance before she moved forward and hugged me tight.

Immediately, my anger was melting down and I hugged her back. I put my head on her shoulder. The only thing I focused on now was how she hugged me with love. The warm of her body pressed on me. Oh, how I wanted to preserve this moment forever. I didn't want this hug to end. And that's when my eyes gave up. Tears were flowing down from my eyes. I knew Grover was watching but I really didn't care.

"I missed you, Mom." I mumbled.

"Oh, Percy." My mom said. "I missed you too, honey."

For a few minutes (I guessed), I sobbed quietly on her shoulder while she rubbed my back to calm me down. After I was done with my emotional breakdown, I pulled back and quickly erased my tears using my shirt's sleeve. At the same time, mom was looking at me up and down.

"I can't believe it, honey!" She exclaimed. "You've grown since Christmas!"

"Of course, I am, Mom." I chuckled. "I am a growing boy."

"Yes, you are." She smiled while ruffling my hair.

Then, she turned to Grover with a quizzical look as to why he was here. But, I could see a hint of fear there.

"Oh, right. Mom, this is Grover, my best friend." I said.

Not that the introduction was necessary of course. I knew that she had recognized him the moment she entered the room.

"Grover here agreed to take me to the Camp." I continued.

She turned back to me, now looked pale. She opened her mouth to speak but I beat her on it.

"Yes, Mom. I know everything." I said. "I kind of figured it out myself."

It's hard and wrong to lie to her. But, it had to be done to explain my sudden knowledge.

"Honey…."

"It's for your safety, Mom." I sighed. "I had two uncles that really angry at me right now."

"What do you mean, Percy?" She asked, seemed afraid to hear the answer. "What was really going on at school?"

"There was an incident with a Kindly Ones, Mrs. Jackson." Grover answered for her.

Her face became even paler. And I couldn't stand it to see her like that.

"You have to let me go, Mom." I pleaded. "If I stay here, I would put you in danger."

She needed a moment to calm herself before she could give a response.

"Okay." She said with a trembling voice. "But, could we stay at Montauk for the night?"

I tried to protest. I needed her to be safe here. I didn't want Hades to catch her again.

"But…."

"It's just for the night, honey." She pleaded. "I promise to take you and Grover to the Camp the first thing in the morning."

I couldn't possibly say no to her. My mom, who never asked me to do anything, was pleading right in front of my face. So, I gave her a little nod. Immediately, her face brightened up slightly and she hugged me again.

At that moment, Gabe yelled from the other room. "Hey, Sally. Are you done scolding that boy of yours? I need some bean dip!"

My mom gave a sigh hearing that. I just gritted my teeth. Anger started to build up inside me again. What gave Gabe the right to order around my mom who was the nicest lady in the world? How dare he treat my mom like a servant?

"Mom, can you promise me something?" I asked.

"What is it, honey?"

"Leave him after this, okay." I said. "You don't have to protect me anymore. You deserve someone better than him!"

Mom was probably shocked by my outburst from her wide eyes.

"Percy…."

"Please, Mom." I pleaded. "I just can't stand it anymore. You deserve a better life than this."

Once again, my eyes were moist and tears threatened to fall down. But, I looked at her with full determination. I meant everything I said. I wanted her to be happy for once after all the hard work that she'd done to raise me.

"All right, honey." She squeezed my hands gently.

Hearing her response, a smile appeared on my face which she mirrored on her own face. Grover started to cry as well when he saw our emotional moments. I grabbed him by the shoulder and we had a group hug right there.

But, the moment was ended when Gabe appeared in the doorway and growled.

"What's this?" He asked irritated.

"Sorry, honey." She told Gabe. "Percy just told me about his problem at school."

"Problem? He is the problem!" He exclaimed. "Just get the bean dip already!"

I was ready to stand up and shout back at him. But, mom put her hand on my shoulder to stop me. Gabe gave me a glare before he went back outside.

"Let me deal with him, okay." She said softly.

I grudgingly nodded and she smiled at me before left me alone with Grover.

"Dude, your mom is so kind and nice." Grover commented with an awe.

"Yeah, that's my mom." I agreed.

* * *

An hour later we were ready to leave. It's really hard to convince Gabe to let us go. I was mostly at fault here because of my behavior. But, I didn't regret everything I said to him before.

After bribing Gabe with the bean dip, a fake promise from mom that she would ground me and not give me money for the rest of the summer holiday after we went home (not that I would see him again this summer), and a reluctant statement of apology full of sarcasm from me (his small brain would never detect the sarcasm), he finally allowed us to go to Montauk using his '78 Camaro.

Gabe took a break from his poker game long enough to watch me lug my mom's bags to the car. He kept complaining and groaning about losing her cooking, and more importantly, his precious car for the whole weekend.

"Not a scratch on this car, brain boy." He warned me as I loaded the last bag. "Not one little scratch."

Like I'd be the one driving, I scoffed mentally. Yes, I could drive. But, I was twelve at the moment. It's not appropriate for a twelve years old boy to drive a car on street. I just ignored him and got in the car. Grover sat at the back seat while my mom was in front of the wheel. Once I was inside, mom started the engine and we're ready to make our way to Montauk.

* * *

Our rental cabin was on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. It was a little pastel box with faded curtains, half sunken into the dunes. There was always sand in the sheets and spiders in the cabinets, and most of the time the sea was too cold to swim in. I really loved the place.

We'd been going there since I was a baby. My mom had been going there even longer. This beach was a special place for her. I knew that she met dad here. I always imagined how it was happened. She'd spent the night with him on the very same cabin. That night must be the best night ever for her.

As we got closer to Montauk, mom seemed to grow younger. Years of worry and work were disappearing from her face. Her eyes turned into the color of the sea.

I myself enjoyed the moment. Breathing the fresh air deeply and closing my eyes, my body relaxed. I did wonder whether dad observing us right now or not. Did he know every time we'd been here? I was sure that he, the almighty god of the sea, knew.

We got there at sunset. It's so beautiful and I could momentarily forget about my hard journey ahead that I had to endure. We opened all the cabin's windows, and went through our usual cleaning routine. Surprisingly, we're doing it faster than usual. Well, we had an extra pair of helping hands, courtesy of Grover.

So, we spent the remaining time to walk on the beach, enjoying the sunset and the scenery. We fed blue corn chips to seagulls and munched on blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, and all of the other free samples mom had brought from work.

When it got dark, we made fire in front of the cabin. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. We shared stories right then. I told her (more lie to her) how I figured out everything, about my father, about who I was. I told her that I always suspicious when I heard her story that dad was lost at sea, not dead.

Every time I was at the beach, hearing the roaring of waves was calming me down. I really felt at home, like I was a part of the sea itself. But, of course I only made the connection, I told her, when I heard the stories of Greek gods and goddesses. How that sometimes they mate with mortals and as the result were demigods. I believed that the stories were real because sometimes I could hear the roar of wave inside my head whenever my emotion reached the peak. That's how I suspected who my father was.

"But, I got the real proof when I encountered one of the Kindly Ones." I took a glance to Grover who laughed nervously.

"Did you get hurt?" Mom asked with worry.

"Nope. I got a help from someone." I shrugged. "But, surprisingly, it didn't come from my supposedly protector."

A smirk appeared on my face when Grover began to sweat a lot, under mom's glare.

"I can explain it, Mrs. Jackson!" Grover held both of his hands up. "Chi…. I mean Mr. Brunner was the one who could help Percy fast enough."

"It's okay, man." I laughed. "I don't blame you. Chiron was the one who brought a weapon after all."

"How did you know his real identity?" Grover asked surprised.

"Well, you just confirmed it." I pointed out.

He swore for a moment while mom and I laughed. But then, he joined us as well. And the cabin was full of laughter for a while. After we calmed down a bit, I turned back to mom.

"So, can you tell me more about dad, Mom?" I asked.

She was momentarily lost in memory when I asked about dad.

"He was kind, Percy." She smiled. "Tall, handsome, powerful. But, gentle too. You have his black hair, you know, and his green eyes."

Mom fished a blue jelly bean out of her candy bag.

"I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud." She continued.

"Oh, I bet he is watching us right now." I grinned.

"Perhaps." Mom nodded.

"As for being proud of me…." I murmured. "Sadly, I haven't done anything great."

"Oh, honey…." She reached for my hands.

"But, I'll try to anyway." I said with determination. "I want him to proud of me."

"That's my boy." She smiled with moist eyes.

* * *

That night, my dream was a bit different than the last time. I saw a white horse and a golden eagle in a fight on the beach. They're trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf. As they fought, the ground rumbled, and a monstrous voice, the familiar voice of my own grandfather, chuckled somewhere beneath the earth, goading the animals to fight harder.

Suddenly, the eagle turned his sharp gaze on me and swooped down at my direction. But, before he could reach me, the horse was standing protectively in front of me. The animals resumed their fight with the horse protecting me from the eagle's attacks. The chuckle became louder and louder, it started to hurt my ears. I covered them with my hands and closed my eyes, hoping that the dream would end soon.

* * *

I woke up suddenly, hearing a loud thunderclap. I realized that the thunder was going crazy outside but the rain hadn't fell down.

That's when I heard a voice calling me.

"Percy."

I immediately recognize it as dad's voice. Wasting no time, I got up and left the cabin without waking up mom and Grover.

* * *

The beach was rather dark with the occasional lightnings that brightening it up. I turned my gaze around and found a figure standing ahead near the water. I warily walked towards the figure. As I was nearer the figure, I could see that it was indeed dad, wearing his usual attire. He was practically an older version of me. I could see him smiling sadly to me. I stopped in front of him.

"Hello, Percy." He said.

"Dad." I nodded.

He was momentarily confused when he looked at my eyes. I guessed you couldn't hide it from a god.

"You looked different." He frowned. "Your eyes showed pain and experience beyond your age."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Hearing that was making me think back about everything I'd been endured so far. From Luke's betrayal, the many deaths I'd seen. Bianca, Zoe, Charlie, Silena, Ethan, ended by Luke's final sacrifice. Then, I thought about all of my friends. Annabeth, Nico, Thalia, Jason, Leo, Piper, Frank, Hazel, and the others.

"I suppose it's true." I muttered.

Shockingly, dad crossed the distance between us and put his hand on my shoulder. I looked up to him in surprise.

"What happened?" He asked with concern on his face.

I was almost crumbling inside and blurting out everything to him right then. This was my father. He would be able to help me for sure. But, I just couldn't do it. I had to stick to the plan and keep the secret.

"It's….nothing." I mumbled. "I'm sorry. But, I can't tell you."

He sighed loudly, clearly disappointed that I couldn't open up to him.

"Keep in your mind that I'll always be there if you need help." He said.

"I will." I nodded.

For a while, we just stood there, enjoying our private moment together. But then, it must end prematurely.

"I'm sorry, Percy." He said regretfully. "My time is almost up. I don't want Zeus to know that I met you."

A loud thunderclap was heard above us and dad let out a scowl, before he turned serious.

"Take your mother and the satyr with you." He told me. "And leave for the Camp as soon as possible."

Another thunderclap and the rain finally fell down. I knew that it would become a storm soon.

"There is a danger approaching you." Dad warned me.

My body was stiffened hearing that. I couldn't help to think the worst case possible. I knew that he couldn't help us but my mouth opened by its own.

"Couldn't you help us?" I asked frantically. "At least, keep mom safe."

Dad just shook his head sadly.

"If I interfere, my brothers would know and assume the worst." He said. "I'm afraid you have to do it on your own."

I bowed my head down, hiding my disappointment.

"I'm sure you and your mother would be fine, Percy." He reassured me. "I know you can do it. I believe in you, Son. I have no doubt that you're going to make me proud."

I looked back at him in shock when I heard that. He took a step backwards from me still with a smile on his face. But then, he turned his gaze away from me. His eyes were widened slightly looking something behind me. Quickly, I turned around to see mom standing by the cabin's door with a hand covering her mouth and tears coming out from her eyes. From dad's softening eyes, I could see that he still loved mom even after all this time.

"It's nice to see you again, Sally." His kind voice echoed loudly on that beach.

After that, he turned back at me.

"Take care of your mother, Percy." Dad said. "And be careful, both of you."

With those last words and a smile, his body dissolved into water vapor, returned to the sea. Almost at the same time, the rain became a storm. I had no doubt that it would be much worse soon. I quickly walked back to the cabin. My heart was pounding so hard because I had to tell mom about the incoming danger.


	5. Chapter 5

MY UNCLE SENDS ME A BULL AND A FEW DOGS TO PLAY WITH

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson series**

I walked slowly until I arrived in front of mom. She immediately hugged me tight.

"Oh, honey." She said. "I'm glad you met him at last."

I didn't give her a response, making her confused. Her face became pale when she saw my grim expression.

"What is it, Percy?" She asked. "What did your father tell you?"

"Let's go inside first, Mom." I muttered. "And we better wake up Grover as well."

Mom nodded and we entered the cabin. Grover was still asleep, didn't seem disturb at all by the thunderclaps. And he mumbled something like 'food' if I heard right and sometimes bleated. Actually, I felt guilty that I had to wake him up and tell him the bad news.

I approached him and extended my arm, wanted to shake him up. But, before I could do that, his nose twitched madly and his eyes snapped open. He sat up so quick that his forehead hit mine (Hades, what was inside his head that making it so hard!). I was falling backwards on my butt and clutching my head in pain. Tears were formed on the corner of my eyes.

"Dude, what the heck?" I exclaimed to my best friend who was apparently in pain as well.

"I'm the one who supposed to be asking, Perce!" Grover complained. "What were you doing, having your face so close to me?"

"I was going to wake you up, Grover." I said

I turned to mom beside me, who apparently put her hand on her mouth, trying hard not to laugh. But, little giggles were able to escape.

"Mom, don't laugh at me!" I shouted.

And the giggles became a full laughter.

"Ugh, I hate you." I groaned.

"Okay, okay, honey." She smiled. "But, you have to admit that it was kind of fun."

"You're not supposed to laugh at your own son's pain." I pouted.

"Well, a mom has the right to have a fun sometimes." She smirked.

"Ahhh, just stop, please!" I exclaimed. "We have a situation here."

"What situation?" Grover asked.

"Just got a warning from my dad." I muttered.

"You met him?" His eyes were widened. "When did….?" He stuttered.

"Just a moment ago." I told him. "He informed me of the incoming danger and told us to go to the Camp as soon as possible."

I really hoped Hades only sent the Minotaur after me. With no weapon at all, it would be hard to defeat even one monster. Well, I didn't count my demigod ability since I didn't know how much my young body could do without proper training. Using my ability really sapped out my energy, especially if I hadn't trained at all. I decided right then that mom had to stay here. They wouldn't chase her if she wasn't with me. I was their target after all.

Suddenly, Grover turned to the other side. From his twitching nose, I could tell that he smelled something. Then, he turned back to us with a pale face.

"Monsters." He said frightened.

That word struck me hard. It confirmed my dread. Monsters, obviously plural, had a clear meaning of more than one monster. Ugh, it's really my bad luck. It seemed that Hades was really mad at me if he sent a horde of monsters after me.

"Oh, gods!" Mom said frantically. "We must hurry then."

She stood up and immediately grabbed her purse, before tossed me my rain jacket.

"Get to the car, both of you. Go!" She shouted.

But, I grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Mom, you can't come with us." I said sternly.

"What? But, Percy…." She protested.

"No, Mom. You have to stay here." I shook my head. "They're after me, not you. You would be safe here."

"And must wondering alone whether my son is safe or not?" She exclaimed. "I'm coming with you."

"But…."

"No but, Perseus Jackson!" I flinched when she mentioned my full name with the unusual harsh tone. "We will get to the Camp before they even catch up on us." She said. "I want to see with my own eyes that you enter the Camp safely. Only then, I can go home in peace."

For a moment, we locked gaze. I could see clearly the fear on her eyes (for my safety most likely), but also determination. I knew that I had lost the argument immediately. I couldn't convince her anymore on this matter. If this was what she wanted, what could I say? I would do everything I could to keep her safe while doing so. Mom would go home safely and not become Hades' hostage this time. I would make sure of it.

"Okay, Mom." I nodded. "If that's what you want, we'll do it."

Immediately, she pulled me into a hug.

"Thank you, Percy." She said sincerely.

"We must go now!" Grover interrupted.

Grover quickly pulled down his pants, revealing his goat feet. I didn't say anything seeing his real legs even if this was supposedly the first time I saw a satyr. He didn't seem expecting any comment coming out of my mouth as well, assuming that I'd known already that he was a satyr. After he got off his pants, we ran outside, straight for the Camaro.

* * *

We tore through the night along dark country roads. Wind slammed against the Camaro. Rain lashed the windshield. Overall, the car was tossed left and right along the road. But, mom kept her foot on the gas, even if the storm was making it really hard to see ahead.

Every time there was a flash of lightning, I looked at Grover sitting next to me in the backseat. He was shaking madly.

"This is not happening." He mumbled. "Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth."

"Don't say that, Grove." I said. "I'm going to make it."

His pale face turned to me. I could see that he was not convinced at all by my words.

"Just trust me, okay." I gave him a small smile. "I'm different than the others."

Now, he was confused as to why I told him that I was different. He opened his mouth trying to say something when I felt it. The hair rose on the back of my neck. Then, there was a blinding flash and the sound of deafening explosion. Immediately, I felt weightless, like I was being crushed, fried, and hosed down all at the same time.

I peeled my forehead off the back of the driver's seat and groaned loudly.

"Percy!" My mom shouted.

"I'm fine…."

I tried to shake off the daze. I looked up above to see that the roof had cracked open like an eggshell and rain was pouring in. We'd been blasted right off the road and swerved into a ditch. And the culprit was obviously a lightning.

"Thank you so much, Uncle." I muttered. "You clearly want to make it harder for me."

My dear uncle, the ever dramatic sky god, answered me with another thunder strike to earth that hit a tree on one side of the road. The tree was burned and slightly lit up the road. I looked around and was deeply relieved that there was no sign of monsters yet. I quickly turned towards Grover who currently became a big motionless lump. He was slumped over with blood trickling from the side of his mouth.

"Mom, we have to get out of here." I said deadly serious.

Mom responded by trying to open the driver door. But, of course it was jammed. So was mine. I climbed across Grover and pushed the door open into the rain. I scrambled outside, dragging Grover from the car. Mom got out after me.

Another flash of lightning and I saw him. A figure was lumbering towards on the shoulder of the road. I would recognize that monster anywhere. And obviously, mom had seen him too from her pale face.

"Quick, Mom!" I shouted. "Where is the Camp?"

"Do you see that tree?" She pointed to the familiar huge pine at the crest of the nearest hill. "That's the property line."

"Okay." I nodded. "Help me get Grover there."

"I can't cross the property line, honey." She shook her head sadly.

"Not crossing then." I said. "But, at least close enough."

Together, we draped Grover's arms over our shoulders and started stumbling uphill through wet waist-high grass.

I glanced behind me when the Minotaur bellowed in rage. He picked up Gabe's Camaro by the torn roof. The chassis was creaking and groaning. He raised the car over his head and threw it down the road. It slammed into the wet asphalt and skidded in a shower of sparks for about half a mile before coming to a stop. The gas tank exploded.

Despite our situation, I managed a small smile when I remembered Gabe's words. Not a scratch, sure. Oops, sorry Gabe, I was afraid that your precious Camaro was a history.

Another bellow of rage, and the bull-man started tromping up hill. Crap, he'd smelled us. The pine tree was only a few more yards, but the hill was getting steeper and slicker, and Grover wasn't getting any lighter.

I stopped and lowering Grover to the ground. Mom was confused by my action.

"Mom, stay here with Grover." I said.

"What?"

"I'll distract that bull." I told her.

Before she could respond, I turned around and moved downhill to the other direction.

"Hey, come here, bull-head!" I shouted.

The Minotaur noticed me and changed his direction after me. I run towards a tree with that bull behind me. My plan was to get away once he was close enough. If I was lucky, his horns would be stuck on the tree.

Suddenly, I heard familiar growls behind me. Damn, hellhounds! Then, a loud scream. Mom's scream.

"Percy!"

My blood froze. My heart literally stopped beating. I turned around right when two hellhounds bit mom's arms and dragging her away.

"Nooooo!" I shouted.

But, I was too late and too far to help. Mom's scared face was planted on my mind before she disappeared into the shadow with the hellhounds. For a moment, time stopped for me. My eyes were locked on the place mom disappeared. The realization hit me hard. I failed to protect her. I failed.

A loud bellow reached my ears before my body was thrown away and hit the tree nearby. I collapsed to the ground and gasped for air. Damn, that was hurt!

I turned ahead and saw that the Minotaur was ready for another round. I shakily stood up. Rage started to build up inside me. I cursed my paranoid uncles for their actions. Thunder rumbled above me, but I didn't care. I was too angry to care. Beside that, I was angry at myself because of my inability to protect my mom. What was the use of my future knowledge if I couldn't even protect my mom? What a pathetic savior of Olympus. I gritted my teeth.

Two more hellhounds came out of the shadow and moved towards Grover who was still unconscious. Hades' intention was to kidnap my mom. Grover would not get the same treatment. He would be killed right away. That's when my rage reached the peak.

The rain started to move around me. The wind became faster and faster until a small hurricane was formed with me at the center. With a roar, I ran. Then, everything slowed down before stopped for a moment. At that time, I wasn't really aware of the strange occurence. I rushed forward and collided with the Minotaur. And time moved again. We landed on the ground hard with me at top of the monster. I punched his head once.

Then, I kept moving forward leaving the dazed Minotaur behind. My first priority was to save Grover from the hellhounds. Once I near them, I did slashing motions with my hands. The rain obeyed me and did as I commanded. The hellhounds were thrown away from Grover because of it. They quickly rose and turned their attention to me.

Right then, a bellow from behind warned me of the approaching Minotaur. I quickly jumped and did a back flip to avoid getting hit. I landed right on his neck. Immediately, the bull-man staggered around, trying to shake me off him. I locked my arms around his horns to keep from being thrown. Then, I grabbed one of his horns and snapped it with my strength.

The Minotaur screamed loudly and flung me through the air. I landed flat on my back in the grass. My head, unfortunately, smacked against a rock. When I sat up, my vision was blurry, but I had the horn in my hands.

The half-bull once again charged at me. I rolled to one side and stabbed him on his side, right up under his furry rib cage, with his own horn. The bull-man roared in agony. He flailed, clawing at his chest. Then, he disintegrated like crumbling sand, blown away in chunks by the wind. In a moment, the monster was gone.

Suddenly, one hellhound jumped on me from the shadow and bit my arm. I yelled in pain and was thrown backwards with the huge hound at my top. Before it could yank my arm off my body, I drove the Minotaur's horn into its side and felt a satisfaction when the hellhound disappeared in agony.

My arm, which had been bitten, was throbbed badly. Blood flew down from the wound. Immediately, I willed the rain to heal it. When the wound was closed, I was gasping for breath. I couldn't believe that I felt so exhausted. I really needed to train my body after this.

I sluggishly stood up and looked around for the last hellhound. I couldn't see it but I prepared myself for a sudden attack. When my ears caught a growl from behind, I quickly rolled to my right, barely escaped the hellhound's teeth. Immediately, I rushed forward and leaped on the monster's back. With both my hands, I drove the horn down through its head. And the last monster disintegrated before my eyes.

At that moment, the rain had stopped. The storm still rumbled, but only in the distance. I landed on the ground and staggered backwards, trying to catch my breath. My young and untrained body was completely exhausted. I smelled like livestock and my knees were shaking. My head felt like it was splitting open. I was trembling badly. The moment mom got kidnapped was kept playing on my head.

Slowly, I made my way to Grover. He was still unconscious, not aware of the previous event. But, I was glad that he was fine. I managed to haul him up and staggered towards Thalia's pine tree.

I was really tired that eventually I collapsed beside the tree. I had no energy left. I gazed up on the tree that housed my friend's soul before I closed my eyes. I was relieved that at least I got us inside the property line.


	6. Chapter 6

I MEET MY SUPER EVIL GREAT GRANDMOTHER

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson series**

Demigods like me usually got what we called demigod dreams when we're sleeping. Most of the time, they're so vague that annoyed us to no end. Sometimes, our spirit (I guessed) could be dragged to another place when someone powerful (like the gods for example) summoned us. As for me, I usually brought myself unconsciously in the middle of conversation that I wasn't supposed to listen. According to my dear grandfather (the evil king Titan, Kronos), the reason for that was my father's blood that was flowing in my vein, making me too unchangeable, too unpredictable, as he said. That, I could understand. I was pretty unpredictable, especially when I was in a fight. But, what I hate more was the fact that most of my demigod dreams were so vivid that I always remembered them, even after I woke up.

When I was somehow standing in the middle of a grass field, I became suspicious. The last thing I remembered was losing my consciousness due to exhaustion beside Thalia's pine tree after a hard fight against the monsters (one Minotaur and two hellhounds) that was sent to attack me by my dear uncle, Hades. So, my mind quickly arrived on a conclusion that this must be a dream. The place was so peaceful that made me really wary immediately. Well, it was rare for me to get a nice demigod dream.

"Peaceful, isn't it?" Someone said beside me.

I had to force myself to not groan loudly hearing that familiar voice. I turned to my right and saw one goddess that lately won the first place of my most hated goddesses list (number two was Hera). Yep, the one and only Queen Dirt Face herself.

"What do you think, Perseus?" The primordial goddess asked while giving me a smile that bordering creepy. Scratch that. With her eyes closed like that, it was way beyond creepy.

"Gaea." I narrowed my eyes and took a distance between me and her.

"Ahhh. So, you do know me." She said with a sleepy voice. "Was my brother the one who told you?"

I didn't give her an answer because I was sure she would be able to tell whether I was lying or not. She took a step forward to me. Consciously, I stepped backwards.

"Are you afraid of me?" Gaea asked.

"No offense, Great Grandma." I snorted. "From what I've heard, you are not exactly a good person."

As a response for my statement, she let out a chilling laugh that made me shivered. Suddenly, the place blurred and I was floating in the mid-air. I fought the urge of panic when I watched what was played in front of me, the destruction of Mount Olympus. Buildings and temples were burned down. The bridge that served as main entrance was crumbling down. Part of the city itself was falling down, unable to float anymore. This was a great vision of my worst nightmare.

Then, I was back at the grass field with Gaea smiling in front of me.

"It's for the greater good." She said.

"Your greater good, you mean." I corrected her. "You don't care about anything except yourself."

"You have such a mouth, demigod." She frowned. "Don't you know that I could strike you down easily?"

"Well, I haven't been turned to ash yet, have I?" I shrugged. "So, I'll take my chance."

"I begin to see why my brother is so interested in you." She chuckled. "You're correct. You're still useful for me. So, let us talk about you."

"Me?" My eyebrow was raised.

"Yes. I want to know more about you, Son of Poseidon." She smiled again. "For instance, what makes you so special, Perseus?"

"What do you mean?" I asked confused. "I'm just a regular demigod. Well, except the fact that my father is one of the three strongest gods. That, by default makes me more powerful than a normal demigod. But, I'm sure you know that."

"I'm pretty sure there is something more that makes you different than the other demigods." She said. "You see, my brother, Chronos, is the personification of time. His domain is so massive that it affects everything. Don't you get what I mean?"

"Nope. Don't get it at all." I shook my head.

"He's strictly forbidden to interfere directly." She explained. "Even so, this is the first time he chose a champion for himself."

My brain worked fast (not as fast as Annabeth's of course) and reached one conclusion.

"Me?" My eyes widened slightly. "Oh, please. You must be kidding." I chuckled nervously.

"But, there is a solid proof." She smiled. "You showed some control over his domain recently even if for just a moment."

My mind wandered back to the fight before. Now that I could think more clearly, there's something different back then, just before I collided with the Minotaur. Usually when my rage reached its peak, my demigod power would respond accordingly and become more powerful. As the result, the water around me would boost me up more than usual. My strength, endurance, speed, agility, reflex, all of those would increase beyond normal, made me practically a super human. But, as far as I knew, I never moved so fast that practically everything around me was stopped. And apparently that's what I had experienced back then.

"I see you remember it." Gaea's voice snapped me back from my thought.

"That's just a coincidence." I reasoned, not so sure myself.

"Over time, you would learn to use it properly. I reckoned not to the extent of Chronos or even my son, Kronos' mastery because you're still a mortal. But, it would make you more powerful than just a regular child of Big Three." She continued. "Zeus, that paranoid King of gods, would definitely hunt you down if he knows."

Yeah, that statement was unfortunately right. My paranoid uncle would definitely hunt me down if he knew. Even if he didn't know, sooner or later he would force the Olympians to vote whether I should be killed or not.

"Can't you see it, Perseus?" Gaea asked. "By possessing that power, you would be on a constant danger."

"Then, I won't ever use this power ever again." I quickly responded.

"You are going to waste the precious gift that had been given to you?" She raised her eyebrow. "Actually, I have a better option that I'm going to offer to you."

"What is it?" I frowned.

"Join me and you would be safe. I can protect you better than anyone." She smiled.

The moment she offered me to join her and betrayed the Olympians, I became angry. Well, beyond angry. The Olympians were my family. My dad was fine, the best among the Olympians, beside Aunt Hestia of course. I didn't like Zeus and Hades, my paranoid uncles. But, I used to their personalities. I hated Hera and Ares that's for sure, but they had their own roles in this world. As for Demeter and Hephaestus, they're fine, I guess, despite their strange personalities. Artemis, I respected her despite her obvious dislike to men. Athena was creepy, that's the truth. But, I would never hate my girlfriend's mother (Well, Annabeth hadn't been my girlfriend this time around yet, but I'll make sure that she would be mine). Apollo and Hermes were fun guys. The last two, Aphrodite and Dionysus were annoying. But, just like the other Olympians they had their own domains to be controlled. Yes, it's so obvious that the Olympians had flaws. But, they were a better ruler than Gaea and her children, the Giants and the Titans.

"I would die first before betray them." I told her.

"Are you really that eager to die for their sake, demigod?" Gaea's voice reached dangerous tone.

"If that's what it takes, then yes, I would gladly die for them." I stated firmly.

For a moment, I thought she would blast me right away. But then, she just sighed. I didn't know she could even do that!

"Personal loyalty. I wonder if that's your fatal flaw." She hummed. "Well, I feel generous this time. So, I'll give you time to reconsider. I suggest you to prepare the right answer when I ask you next time."

Immediately, the scenery around us was blurred and Gaea disappeared from my sight.

"In the meantime, I'll let my son to do what he wants." Her voice became an echo. "Remember, Son of the Sea. I'll be watching over you. Have a sweet dream."

Then, everything went dark.

* * *

When I woke up, I saw the most beautiful sight in front of me. I would recognize that curly blond hair everywhere. Annabeth Chase, my Wise Girl, was looking at me with her lovely stormy grey eyes.

"What will happen at the summer solstice?" She asked (with a rather harshly tone if I might say) when she saw I was awake.

I did the only thing I could in my dazed state.

"What?" I croaked.

She looked around, afraid someone would overhear for sure. "What's going on? What was stolen? We've only got a few weeks!"

"Can you ask me that later please?" I mumbled. "I'm not in a good state."

She was surprised for a moment. Didn't really think I might have the answer perhaps. Then, someone knocked the door, and she quickly filled my mouth with ambrosia. I happily munched it. After that, I closed my tired eyes still felt the need to sleep.

* * *

When I came around for good, I was sitting in a deck chair on a huge porch, gazing across the familiar meadow at Camp Half-Blood. There was a blanket over my legs, a pillow behind my neck. All was great, except the fact that my mouth felt like a scorpion had been using it for a nest. My mouth was dry and nasty. To make it worse, all of my teeth were hurt.

On the table next to me was a tall glass, full of nectar, what I really needed right now. Slowly, I reached out the glass with my weak hand.

"Careful." A familiar voice said.

Grover was leaning against the porch railing, looking like he hadn't slept in a week. Under one arm, he cradled a shoe box.

"Hey, dude!" I gave him a small smile. "What happened to you? You look bad."

"This is nothing, Perce." He said. "You look worse."

"You're absolutely right." I chuckled. "At least we survived that, right?"

Grover shifted uncomfortably and looked guilty.

"I'm really sorry, Perce!" He burst out suddenly. "I mean, you saved me, and I'm really grateful for that. But then, your mom..."

"Grover…." I sighed.

"I was your guardian!" He started to sniffle. "I was supposed to protect you, both of you. But, I was so useless back then. I'm a failure. I'm definitely the worst satyr in the world."

"Grover!" I shouted loudly.

He was surprised by my shout and stopped his rambling.

"It's not your fault!" I stated firmly. "Just don't blame yourself, okay!"

"But…."

"No, Grove." I shook my head. "The ones at fault here are my paranoid uncles."

Thunder rolled across the clear sky.

"That's the truth!" I shouted out loud to the sky above.

More thunder was the response that I got.

I turned back to Grover who looked afraid, like I would be stroke by a lightning bolt right away.

"Besides, my mom was not dead." I told him.

"What?" He looked confused.

"I will get her back." I said not giving him more explanation.

He gave me a sad look. Perhaps, thinking that I still couldn't get over my mom's death. But, I knew better. My mom was kidnapped, not dead. And I would get her back at all cost.

"So, how did I get here?" I asked changing the topic.

"Well, I woke up in the morning." He explained. "I couldn't wake you up. So, I left you there for a moment to get help. Then, you were brought here. You've been out for two days, by the way."

"Two days?" I exclaimed setting my expression into disbelief. "I missed meals for two days?"

"Only you, Perce." He shook his head amused.

I grinned and held the glass in front of me. I put the straw to my lips and in no time the nectar entered my mouth. Immediately, I tasted my mom's homemade blue chocolate-chip cookies, buttery and hot, with the chips still melting. My whole body felt warm and good, full of energy. Before I knew it, I'd drained the glass.

"Was it good?" Grover asked.

"Very." I nodded.

"What did it taste like?"

"My mom's homemade chocolate-chip cookies." I answered.

I put the glass back on the table.

"And how do you feel?"

"Like I could throw Nancy Bobofit a hundred yards." I grinned.

"That's good." He smiled. "Oh yeah, I went back to the hill. And I thought you want this."

He placed the shoe box in my lap. Inside was a black-and-white bull's horn, the base jagged from being broken off, the tip splattered with dried blood. I stared at it for a while.

"A solid proof that I had fought and defeated a half-bull." I smirked.

"That's right." He chuckled. "Come on. Chiron and Mr. D are waiting."

* * *

The porch wrapped all the way around the Big House. My legs felt wobbly, trying to walk that far. As we came around the opposite end of the house, I couldn't help to smile. Gods, I missed this place. The amphiteater, the circular arena, the lake, the campers, everything!

Down at the end of the porch, Chiron and Mr. D were waiting for me at the card table. I noticed that they were not playing pinochle. That was strange. Annabeth was leaning on the porch rail next to them.

"That's Mr. D." Grover murmured to me. "He's the camp director. Be polite."

"I'll try." I said.

"The girl, that's Annabeth Chase. She's just a camper, but she's been here longer than just about anybody. And you already know Chiron." He continued.

I nodded absent-mindedly, still looking at Annabeth. Grover frowned when he saw my longing gaze at Annabeth.

"Just give up, Perce." He chuckled slightly once he realized the meaning of my gaze. "She's beyond your level."

Mentally, I was smirking. Oh, just you see, Grover. Just you see.

When we arrived there, Chiron smiled at me. His eyes had the same mischievous glint that I used to see.

"Ah, Percy. You're getting better." He said.

He offered me a chair to the right of Mr. D. Grover sat on the last chair. Mr. D was currently narrowing his eyes on me, making me feel so uncomfortable. Why the Hades he suddenly got interested on me?

Chiron was clearing his throat to snap Mr. D out.

"Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. But, don't expect me to be glad to see you, Jackson." Mr. D scowled.

Okay, that's weird. Mr. D had an annoying habit to not care at all about demigods. He wouldn't bother to call us with our right names, unless we gained his interest. I, myself, had to accomplish a lot of things before he finally called me with the right name. So, what was changed?

"Annabeth?" Mr. Brunner called and she came forward.

"This young lady nursed you back to health, Percy." He informed me. "Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Percy's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now."

"Sure, Chiron." She responded.

Annabeth glanced at the Minotaur horn in my hands, then back at me. She seemed contemplating something.

"You drool when you sleep." She said boldly. "We'll talk later."

Then, she sprinted off the lawn, her blond hair flying behind her.

I was completely aware that Grover was snickering quietly beside me. Chiron looked quiet amused by what he heard. And Mr. D's just scowled loudly in annoyance.

"What a great first impression you gave her, Perce." Grover said, now openly chuckling.

"Oh, shut up!" I rolled my eyes.

"Well, that was quite entertaining." Chiron smiled. "But, let's down to business, shall we?" He turned to Mr. D. "Mr. D?"

"I would recognize those sea-green eyes anywhere, Chiron. I really didn't think that old barnacle-beard would actually break the oath." He snorted. "I'm surprised that you didn't aware of it from the start."

"I had a suspicion, Mr. D." Chiron sighed. "But, I was uncertain of it since Grover said his demigod scent was not quiet strong."

So, that's why, I thought. I turned to Grover.

"Did you tell them, Grover?" I frowned. "About my father."

"Sorry, Perce." Grover muttered. "I couldn't lie to Chiron."

"He did the right thing by informing me, Percy, of your knowledge and about your encounter with your father." Chiron said. "This, unfortunately, is a big issue."

"Yeah, a big issue." Mr. D hummed. "I'm really eager to inform the big man upstairs about you."

"Mr. D. You're Dionysus, right?" I folded my arms. "I'm afraid the 'big man'…." I quoted. "….had already known about me." I told him. "After all, he sent that lightning bolt to strike our car." I scowled.

And there it was again, the annoying sound of thunder just above my head.

"Percy, I don't thing it's wise to…." Chiron tried to warn me.

"Wise to what, Chiron?" I exclaimed. "It's their fault, my mom was kidnapped!"

Well, actually they were manipulated by Kronos. But, I didn't care at the moment. I just wanted to get my mom back. More thunder and they're much louder this time.

Poor Grover was cowering while murmuring, "Oh, Styx!"

"Kidnapped, huh?" Mr. D raised his eyebrow.

"Yes, kidnapped." I told him. "I refuse to think that she was dead."

"Percy…." Chiron gave me a sad look.

"I would personally go to the Underworld to get her back from Hades." I growled.

Suddenly, Mr. D was laughing in glee.

"You're really mad, Kid." He said between the laughs. "I begin to like you."

Okay, I didn't expect that at all. Did he really thought I was mad?

"Mr. D!" Chiron scolded. "This is serious!"

"Fine. Fine." Mr. D waved lazily then got up from his chair. Grover got up as well. "Well, I'm tired. I believe I'll take a nap before the sing-along tonight. But first, Grover, we need to talk, again, about your less-than-perfect performance on this assignment."

Grover's face immediately beaded with sweat. "Y, yes, Sir."

"It's not Grover's fault!" I quickly protested. "He wouldn't expect me to be hunted by two gods!"

Mr. D. turned back to me. His face showed annoyance.

"Nevertheless, his job had been decided from the start and he couldn't finish it perfectly." He scowled. "So, we will talk about his performance." His tone didn't give any space for protests. "As for you Percy Jackson, since you haven't been claimed by your father yet, you will stay at cabin eleven." He stated.

He turned around to leave. But, he stopped and gave me one last glance.

"Oh, and if you indeed want to go to the Underworld," He said. "….inform me first, will you?" He gave me a small smirk.

Then, he swept into the Big House, chuckling lightly. Grover was following miserably.

Chiron sighed loudly after they left.

"I hope you're not really meant what you've said earlier about going to the Underworld, Percy." He said. "At least, not now."

I decided to turn my head away, so I wouldn't see his pity look at me.

"Will Grover be okay?" I asked Chiron, changing the topic.

Chiron nodded, though he looked a bit troubled. "Old Dionysus isn't really mad. He just hates his job. He's been…. ah, grounded, I guess you would say, and he can't stand waiting another century before he's allowed to go back to Olympus."

I just nodded hearing his explanation.

"You should get out of that wheelchair, Chiron." I pointed at the wheelchair. "I don't think you're quite comfortable there."

The mischievous glint was back on his eyes. "Well, I suppose you're right."

Slowly, he got up from the wheelchair and revealed his half-horse body.

"What a relief." The centaur said. "I'd been cooped up in there so long, my fetlocks had fallen asleep."

"I can see that." I hummed.

"I still don't know how you could guess my identity, Percy." He smiled.

"That's my little secret, Chiron." I smirked.

He laughed loudly hearing my response.

"Sure, sure. Keep your little secret from me." He said amused. "Now, come, Percy Jackson. Let's meet the other campers."


End file.
